7 Bizarre Places Women Have Given Birth

Elizabeth Brew is surrounded by hospital staffers who helped her give birth to twins on Manhattan's 5th Avenue

We’ve all heard the stories featured on local television news in which women give birth along the side of the freeway.

Yawn.

There’s even the story about the woman who recently gave birth in the back of a New York City taxi.

Eh.

But have you heard the one about the woman who gave birth in a tree?

I thought not. Without further ado – here are seven of the wildest places where women have given birth:

1. On A Shrimp Boat: Good thing shrimp boat captain Ed Kiesel knows CPR. It came in handy when he had to deliver a baby when the boat’s cook went into labor 30 miles at sea. Kiesel told the AP in 2007 he did what he could with a brand new package of paper towels, a first aid handbook and some net twine. And this was no run of the mill birth. The baby boy came out feet first and wasn’t breathing because the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. Kiesel tried to clear the baby’s nose, rub its back and after 25 minutes of CPR, the baby boy breathed on his own. Ahoy!

2. In A Lifeboat: Talk about water birth… 26-year-old Junelle Wilson lives on little isle in Great Britain. During the day a ferry is available but at night there is just a lifeboat. By the time the lifeboat arrived to carry her to mainland she was 8 cm dilated. As it was nearing the harbor her water broke and her baby boy came rushing out.

3. At The Post Office: Sonia Do Nascimento, 39, was shopping and stopped at the post office. While waiting in line (insert long post office lines joke here) her water broke. The postal employees took her to a back room to call for help but the baby girl was born two minutes later. Hey, special deliveries wait for no one. They even weighed the bundle of joy on the post office scales.

5. On Fifth Avenue: You can imagine the crowd 33-year-old Elizabeth Brew from Scarsdale drew when she began to labor on fifth avenue in the greatest city in the world. As The NY Post reports, “While she remained in the SUV – her legs extended toward busy Fifth Avenue and Central Park – the hospital staff brought equipment into the middle of the street.” Hospital staffers even used their bodies to block off two lanes of traffic. The 4-pound, 13-ounce girl was delivered right out on the avenue. But wait! There’s more! A few minutes later her twin brother was born before being rushed to the hospital

6. On The Subway: Another New York tale to tell. Francine Alfontent and her husband Max were taking the F train to the nearest hospital because of her labor pains. Francine began feeling odd so Max told the conductor who radioed ahead to the next platform. New Yorkers sprang into action. A nurse on the subway kept Francine company while a businessman offered up his briefcase for a pillow. A third man ran up the stairs to guide the paramedics who arrived just as the baby was crowning to appaluse.

7. In A Tree: Rosita Pedro was born in a tree above Mozambique’s swirling floodwaters. Her mother, 26-year-old Sofia Pedro, had climbed the tree to escape the crocodile-infested water below. Pedro clung to the tree for four days before going into labor. A medic was lowered on to the tree to help the mother give birth and cut the umbilical cord. Mother and baby were then carried to safety.

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